2025–26 Eerste Divisie

Eerste Divisie
Season	2025–26
Dates	8 August 2025 – 24 April 2026
Promoted	ADO Den Haag
Matches	322
Goals	1,021 (3.17 per match)
Top goalscorer	Romano Postema; (19 goals)
Biggest home win	Emmen 6–0 Eindhoven; (11 October 2025); Roda JC Kerkrade 6–0 Den Bosch; (17 October 2025)
Biggest away win	Jong AZ 0–4 ADO Den Haag; (3 October 2025); Eindhoven 0–4 Vitesse; (17 October 2025); Vitesse 0–4 Cambuur; (7 November 2025)
Highest scoring	Cambuur 5–3 Jong PSV; (26 September 2025); Jong FC Utrecht 5–3 Jong PSV; (19 January 2026)
Longest winning run	12 matches; ADO Den Haag
Longest unbeaten run	14 matches; ADO Den Haag
Longest winless run	15 matches; Jong Ajax
Longest losing run	4 matches; Dordrecht; Eindhoven; Jong FC Utrecht; MVV Maastricht; Jong AZ; Jong Ajax; TOP Oss
	← 2024–25 2026–27 → All statistics correct as of 20 March 2026.

The 2025–26 Eerste Divisie, also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, is the 70th season of the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of football in the Netherlands since its establishment in 1956.

Teams

A total of 20 teams take part in the league: 17 teams from the 2024–25 Eerste Divisie and 3 teams relegated from the 2024–25 Eredivisie. Almere City replaced 2024–25 Eerste Divisie champions Volendam after two seasons in the Eredivisie. RKC Waalwijk replaced second-placed Excelsior after six seasons in the Eredivisie. Willem II replaced Telstar following their loss in the promotion play-offs after one season in the Eredivisie.

On 31 July 2025, it was confirmed that Vitesse had lost their professional license due to financial issues, and therefore the club was not eligible to play in the Eerste Divisie.^[1]^[2] The KNVB announced that no other team was eligible to be promoted, and as a result the competition began to be played with 19 teams. Period titles would have been decided on the first 8 or 9 matches each team played within a period, depending on whether such a period would have had 9 or 10 match days.^[3]

On 3 September 2025, Vitesse won an appeal and regained their license, requiring them to be placed back in the league, and returning the league to the original 20-team rules.^[4]^[5]

Location of teams in the 2025–26 Eerste Divisie

Stadiums and locations

Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
ADO Den Haag	The Hague	WerkTalent Stadion	15,000
Almere City	Almere	Yanmar Stadion	4,501
Cambuur	Leeuwarden	Kooi Stadion	15,000
De Graafschap	Doetinchem	Stadion De Vijverberg	12,600
Den Bosch	's-Hertogenbosch	Stadion De Vliert	8,713
Dordrecht	Dordrecht	M-Scores Stadion	4,235
Eindhoven	Eindhoven	Jan Louwers Stadion	4,600
Emmen	Emmen	De Oude Meerdijk	8,600
Helmond Sport	Helmond	GS Staalwerken Stadion	3,600
Jong Ajax	Amsterdam	Sportpark De Toekomst	2,250
Jong AZ	Alkmaar	AFAS Trainingscomplex	1,000
Jong PSV	Eindhoven	PSV Campus De Herdgang	2,500
Jong FC Utrecht	Utrecht	Sportcomplex Zoudenbalch	450
MVV Maastricht	Maastricht	Stadion De Geusselt	9,500
RKC Waalwijk	Waalwijk	Mandemakers Stadion	7,508
Roda JC Kerkrade	Kerkrade	Parkstad Limburg Stadion	19,979
TOP Oss	Oss	Frans Heesenstadion	4,560
Vitesse	Arnhem	GelreDome	21,248
VVV-Venlo	Venlo	Covebo Stadion - De Koel	8,000
Willem II	Tilburg	Koning Willem II Stadion	14,700

Number of teams by provinces

Number of teams	Province	Team(s)
7	North Brabant	Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Helmond Sport, Jong PSV, RKC Waalwijk, TOP Oss, Willem II
3	Limburg	MVV Maastricht, Roda JC, VVV-Venlo
2	Gelderland	De Graafschap, Vitesse
	North Holland	Jong Ajax, Jong AZ
	South Holland	ADO Den Haag, Dordrecht
1	Drenthe	Emmen
	Flevoland	Almere City
	Friesland	Cambuur
	Utrecht	Jong FC Utrecht

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	President	Manager	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsors (front)	Shirt sponsors (back)	Shirt sponsors (sleeves)	Shorts sponsors
ADO Den Haag	Natascha van Grinsven-Admiraal	Robin Peter	Erreà		Biersteker	Erreà
Almere City	John Bes	Jeroen Rijsdijk	Craft
Cambuur	Cees Heijboer	Henk de Jong	Adidas	Bouwgroep Dijkstra Draisma		TanQYou, Effektief	None
De Graafschap	Mart de Kruif	Marinus Dijkhuizen	Robey	Onverwachtehoek.nl, De DakExpert	Flexfamily, Coffee Fresh	SWR
Den Bosch	Tommie van Alphen	Ulrich Landvreugd	Vacant	Sanitairwinkel
Dordrecht	Hans de Zeeuw	Dirk Kuyt	Capelli	Keukenwarenhuis.nl, Energiek Dordt		M-Scores
Eindhoven	Peter Bijvelds	Jan Poortvliet	Macron	VDL		SRP Zuid
Emmen	Rinse Bleeker	Menno van Dam	Hummel	Vandaglas	Hydrowear, Century Autolease	Punt Uit
Helmond Sport	Ron van den Bekerom	Jurgen Seegers	Saller	Heel Helmond Sport, Dixap		Vescom, Elektro Vogels
Jong Ajax	Menno Geelen	Paul Nuijten	Adidas	Ziggo	Ziggo Sport	Curaçao/ Team Rockstars IT^[6]
Jong AZ	Merijn Zeeman	Frank Peereboom	Nike	Kansino	Elfi Vastgoed	Cavallaro Napoli
Jong PSV	Marcel Brands	Stijn Schaars	Puma	Metropoolregio Brainport Eindhoven	GoodHabitz	TOTO Nederlandse Loterij
Jong Utrecht	Thijs van Es	Mark Otten	Castore^[7]	Conclusion Digital Transformation		U4U	Dassy
MVV Maastricht	Tom Daemen	Peter van den Berg	Nike	TCC, Voetbalshop	Cloos For You	Maak.eu
RKC Waalwijk	Willem van der Linden	Sander Duits	Stanno	Willy Naessens Industriebouw, JM van Delft & Zn.	Mandemakers, Van Mossel Automotive		Beekmans Heftrucks
Roda JC Kerkrade	Jordens Peters	Kevin Van Dessel	Decathlon	Tribe Security, Juyst	Gezond in Mijnstreek, Rutten x Welling	Bijzonder Zorggroep, D&D Verhuur	Woodstone
TOP Oss	Bas van Rossum	Sjors Ultee	JDH	Noor Sportswear, Becoss		MD Stukadoors
Vitesse	Henk Parren	Rüdiger Rehm	Robey
VVV-Venlo	Guus Pennings	Peter Uneken	Craft	Venlo.fit	VidaXL, Seacon Logistics	ProToGa Beveiliging, Personato Recruitment	Haa!
Willem II	Merijn Goris	John Stegeman	Robey	None	None	None	None

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Replaced by	Date of appointment
ADO Den Haag	Darije Kalezić	End of contract	30 June 2025	Pre-season	Robin Peter	14 July 2025
Dordrecht	Melvin Boel	Signed by Go Ahead Eagles			Dirk Kuyt	1 July 2025
Emmen	Alfons Arts	Mutual consent			Menno van Dam
Helmond Sport	Robert Maaskant	End of contract			Jurgen Seegers
Jong Ajax	Frank Peereboom	Moved to Ajax			Willem Weijs
Jong PSV	Alfons Groenendijk	End of contract			Stijn Schaars
Jong FC Utrecht	Ivar van Dinteren	End of contract			Mark Otten
RKC Waalwijk	Henk Fraser	End of contract			Sander Duits
Roda JC Kerkrade	Bas Sibum	Signed by Heracles Almelo			Kevin Van Dessel
Vitesse	John van den Brom	End of contract			Rüdiger Rehm
Willem II	Kristof Aelbrecht (a.i.)	End of interim spell			John Stegeman
VVV-Venlo	John Lammers	Mutual consent	11 September 2025	18th	Ivo Rossen (a.i.)	11 September 2025
MVV Maastricht	Edwin Hermans	Sacked	23 September 2025	19th	Davy Heymans (a.i.)	23 September 2025
VVV-Venlo	Ivo Rossen (a.i.)	End of interim spell	30 September 2025	9th	Peter Uneken	1 October 2025
MVV Maastricht	Davy Heymans (a.i.)	End of interim spell	22 October 2025	12th	Peter van den Berg	22 October 2025
Jong AZ	Lee-Roy Echteld	Moved to AZ	18 January 2026	18th	Frank Peereboom	29 January 2026
Jong Ajax	Willem Weijs	Sacked	10 February 2026	20th	Óscar García	11 February 2026
Eindhoven	Maurice Verberne	Mutual consent	19 February 2026	14th	Jan Poortvliet (a.i.)	19 February 2026
Jong Ajax	Óscar García	Moved to Ajax	8 March 2026	20th	Paul Nuijten	9 March 2026

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or qualification
1	ADO Den Haag^[a] (P)	32	24	2	6	72	31	+41	74	Promotion to the Eredivisie
2	Cambuur^[b] (X)	32	21	7	4	66	37	+29	70	Promotion to the Eredivisie
3	De Graafschap	31	15	7	9	58	49	+9	52	Qualification for promotion play-offs
4	Almere City	33	16	4	13	68	53	+15	52
5	Willem II (X)	31	14	8	9	45	38	+7	50
6	Jong PSV	33	15	5	13	62	58	+4	50	Reserve teams are not eligible to be promoted to the Eredivisie
7	RKC Waalwijk	32	13	9	10	54	47	+7	48	Qualification for promotion play-offs
8	Roda JC Kerkrade	33	12	12	9	51	48	+3	48
9	Den Bosch	32	12	7	13	55	57	−2	43
10	Dordrecht	33	11	10	12	44	46	−2	43
11	Eindhoven	32	12	4	16	46	57	−11	40
12	Jong FC Utrecht	33	10	9	14	51	55	−4	39	Reserve teams are not eligible to be promoted to the Eredivisie
13	VVV-Venlo	33	11	5	17	41	51	−10	38
14	Emmen	31	10	7	14	48	56	−8	37
15	MVV Maastricht	32	9	9	14	39	61	−22	36
16	Vitesse^[c]	33	13	9	11	51	49	+2	36
17	Jong AZ	33	10	4	19	57	66	−9	34	Reserve teams are not eligible to be promoted to the Eredivisie
18	Helmond Sport	33	9	7	17	38	57	−19	34
19	Jong Ajax	33	8	8	17	45	59	−14	32	Reserve teams are not eligible to be promoted to the Eredivisie
20	TOP Oss	33	7	11	15	41	57	−16	32

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2026. Source: Flashscore, Keuken Kampioen Divisie (in Dutch)
Rules for classification: Season in progress: 1) Most points won; 2) Less points lost; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points; 6) Head-to-head goal difference; 7) Head-to-head goals scored 8) Head-to-head away goals scored 9) Alphabetical order; End of season: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goals scored 7) Head-to-head away goals scored; 8) Extra match or series of matches 9) Goal difference (series of matches) 10) Goals scored (series of matches) 11) Penalty shoot-out (extra match or series of matches)^[9]
(P) Promoted; (X) Assured of at least promotion play-offs
Notes:

^ Winner of the First and Second Period (Rounds 1–10 and 11–20)
^ Winner of the Third Period (Rounds 21–29)
^ In the previous season, Vitesse were deducted 3 points for withholding information, another 3 points due to late submission of required information, and another 6 due to previous administrative shortcomings. Vitesse appealed the decisions of the deductions of these 12 points, and due to the decision of the rejection of the appeal coming after the end of the season, the penalty was instead moved to next season.^[8]

Results

Home \ Away	ADO	ALM	CAM	DBO	DOR	EIN	EMM	GRA	HEL	JAJ	JAZ	JPS	JUT	MVV	RKC	RJC	TOP	VIT	VVV	WIL
ADO Den Haag		2–1	1–2	2–1	3–0	6 Apr	2–1	3–2	2–0	3 Apr	1–4	1–2	1–0	3–0	17 Apr	4–0	5–1	0–0	1–0	5–1
Almere City	1–0		1–1	6 Apr	17 Apr	5–0	4–2	2–0	0–1	3–2	1–3	2–4	4–0	4–0	2–2	1–2	3 Apr	2–2	3–0	0–1
Cambuur	2–0	3–2		2–1	6 Apr	2–1	3–2	2–0	0–0	4–1	3–4	5–3	1–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	24 Apr	3–1	2–2
Den Bosch	24 Apr	5–2	10 Apr		3–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	2–0	2–3	1–0	3 Apr	1–2	2–2	2–2	5–2	2–0	0–1	2–1
Dordrecht	12 Apr	0–1	1–0	3–2		3–4	1–0	1–1	3–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	1–2	1–1	1–2	3 Apr	2–2	1–1	2–0	24 Apr
Eindhoven	0–1	3–2	3–3	1–3	2–2		28 Mar	3 Apr	24 Apr	2–1	3–2	4–0	1–0	5–0	1–0	10 Apr	3–4	0–4	0–1	0–2
Emmen	0–1	1–4	24 Mar	3–1	2–0	6–0		24 Apr	4–1	0–0	4–2	2–3	1–0	6 Apr	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–2	0–3
De Graafschap	22 Mar	3–2	17 Apr	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–3		3–1	4–0	6 Apr	3–2	1–0	0–1	2–4	2–3	1–1	1–4	3–2	1–1
Helmond Sport	1–3	2–1	0–1	2–0	1–2	1–0	2–0	0–0		2–1	4–2	2–3	2–1	2–4	6 Apr	1–3	1–1	2–2	17 Apr	2–2
Jong Ajax	1–3	0–2	1–2	3–2	0–0	1–3	0–1	2–2	5–1		4–1	2–2	24 Apr	0–0	0–2	2–2	13 Apr	2–0	2–4	2–1
Jong AZ	0–4	3–4	0–1	2–2	1–2	0–2	2–3	1–3	3 Apr	1–2		13 Apr	1–4	1–1	2–3	24 Apr	0–1	4–0	0–2	4–0
Jong PSV	0–3	2–3	3–2	3–0	1–1	1–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	17 Apr	1–0		3–3	2–2	3–1	0–1	2–0	0–2	6 Apr	2–1
Jong FC Utrecht	2–2	2–3	2–4	3–2	3–1	17 Apr	1–2	2–3	1–0	4–3	0–0	5–3		3–1	2–0	1–3	0–0	13 Apr	2–2	1–1
MVV Maastricht	3–4	1–1	0–1	2–4	0–1	3–1	1–0	3–3	10 Apr	2–1	1–3	2–1	2–2		3 Apr	0–0	24 Apr	3–2	2–1	22 Mar
RKC Waalwijk	1–3	2–0	4–2	21 Mar	1–1	2–1	10 Apr	1–4	1–1	2–1	2–1	24 Apr	2–2	1–0		1–2	2–0	1–1	1–2	2–3
Roda JC Kerkrade	0–3	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–2	0–0	17 Apr	1–0	1–1	3–3	2–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–4		1–2	0–1	2–2	6 Apr
TOP Oss	3–4	1–2	1–2	17 Apr	0–3	2–1	4–0	2–3	0–3	1–1	0–3	1–1	6 Apr	4–0	0–0	1–2		1–2	2–1	1–3
Vitesse	2–1	1–3	0–4	1–2	1–2	1–1	3 Apr	1–2	3–1	6 Apr	2–0	3–1	2–0	17 Apr	2–1	2–2	0–0		2–2	1–2
VVV-Venlo	0–3	24 Apr	3 Apr	0–1	3–1	1–0	4–0	11 Apr	2–1	0–1	1–3	0–2	0–1	1–0	0–3	3–1	1–1	1–2		0–2
Willem II	0–1	12 Apr	0–1	1–1	2–0	0–1	1–1	28 Mar	1–0	1–0	17 Apr	3 Apr	2–1	2–2	2–1	1–2	1–1	3–0	2–1

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2026. Source: Flashscore
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

As of 20 March 2026

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[10]
1	Romano Postema	Emmen	19
2	Devin Haen	Willem II	17
2	Reuven Niemeijer	De Graafschap	17
4	Kevin Monzialo	Den Bosch	15
4	Julian Rijkhoff	Almere City	15
6	Robin van Duiven	Jong PSV	14
7	Yannick Eduardo	Dordrecht	12
	Jesper Uneken	RKC Waalwijk
	Anthony van den Hurk	Roda JC Kerkrade
10	Bouke Boersma	De Graafschap	11

References

^ "Vitesse is geen profclub meer: 'Niemand kan geloven dat de stekker eruit gaat'". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-07-31. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
^ Pascoe, Robin (2025-08-01). "Dutch FA upholds decision to withdraw Vitesse licence". DutchNews.nl. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
^ Sportredactie (2025-08-01). "KNVB: keuze voor doorstart in amateurvoetbal is aan Vitesse zelf, periodetitels KKD gaan ook anders" [KNVB: choice for continuation in amateur football is for Vitesse, period titled KKD will also be different.]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-08-07.
^ "Succes voor Vitesse bij de rechter: club moet worden toegelaten tot eerste divisie". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-09-03. Retrieved 2025-09-03.
^ "Eerste divisie verwacht Jong AZ-Vitesse op 12 september, periodewinnaar wordt later bekend". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-09-04. Retrieved 2025-09-04.
^ "Team Rockstars IT nieuwe mouwsponsor Ajax" [Team Rockstars IT new sleeve sponsor Ajax]. ajax.nl (in Dutch). 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
^ "No More Nike: FC Utrecht Castore Deal Confirmed". Footy Headlines. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
^ "Beroepscommissie: Beroep van Vitesse tegen uitspraak licentiecommissie ongegrond" [Appeals Commission: Vitesse's appeal against decision of the licensing commission unfounded] (in Dutch). 9 July 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
^ "Reglementen betaald voetbal seizoen 2025-26" [Regulations professional football season 2025-26] (in Dutch). KNVB. July 2025.
^ "Spelerstatistieken" [Player statistics] (in Dutch). Keuken Kampioen Divisie. Retrieved 7 March 2026.

[table_note_ADO0.098009157505822-8] Winner of the First and Second Period (Rounds 1–10 and 11–20)

[table_note_CAM0.098009157505822-9] Winner of the Third Period (Rounds 21–29)

[table_note_VIT0.098009157505822-11] In the previous season, Vitesse were deducted 3 points for withholding information, another 3 points due to late submission of required information, and another 6 due to previous administrative shortcomings. Vitesse appealed the decisions of the deductions of these 12 points, and due to the decision of the rejection of the appeal coming after the end of the season, the penalty was instead moved to next season.^[8]

[1] "Vitesse is geen profclub meer: 'Niemand kan geloven dat de stekker eruit gaat'". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-07-31. Retrieved 2025-08-03.

[2] Pascoe, Robin (2025-08-01). "Dutch FA upholds decision to withdraw Vitesse licence". DutchNews.nl. Retrieved 2025-08-03.

[3] Sportredactie (2025-08-01). "KNVB: keuze voor doorstart in amateurvoetbal is aan Vitesse zelf, periodetitels KKD gaan ook anders" [KNVB: choice for continuation in amateur football is for Vitesse, period titled KKD will also be different.]. De Gelderlander (in Dutch). Retrieved 2025-08-07.

[4] "Succes voor Vitesse bij de rechter: club moet worden toegelaten tot eerste divisie". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-09-03. Retrieved 2025-09-03.

[5] "Eerste divisie verwacht Jong AZ-Vitesse op 12 september, periodewinnaar wordt later bekend". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2025-09-04. Retrieved 2025-09-04.

[6] "Team Rockstars IT nieuwe mouwsponsor Ajax" [Team Rockstars IT new sleeve sponsor Ajax]. ajax.nl (in Dutch). 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.

[7] "No More Nike: FC Utrecht Castore Deal Confirmed". Footy Headlines. Retrieved 6 April 2023.

[10] "Beroepscommissie: Beroep van Vitesse tegen uitspraak licentiecommissie ongegrond" [Appeals Commission: Vitesse's appeal against decision of the licensing commission unfounded] (in Dutch). 9 July 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.

[rules-12] "Reglementen betaald voetbal seizoen 2025-26" [Regulations professional football season 2025-26] (in Dutch). KNVB. July 2025.

[13] "Spelerstatistieken" [Player statistics] (in Dutch). Keuken Kampioen Divisie. Retrieved 7 March 2026.

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